Virtual Discussion: Adventures in Ecological Horticulture

Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist, garden designer, and writer. Currently Lead Horticulturist for the American Horticultural Society and the former Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park, she will present on the importance of gardening from an ecological perspective. Following her recent Ted Talk, Let Your Garden Grow Wild, Rebecca will share a 45-minute slide presentation and then answer questions from viewers in conversation with High Line’s Senior Director of Horticulture, Richard Hayden.

Gone are the days when a garden could be ornamental alone. We now recognize the impact that our landcare practices have on the ecosystems around us, and can see the importance of encouraging biodiversity. Thankfully, we do not need to sacrifice beauty when we invite butterflies and songbirds into our gardens. Rebecca McMackin has cultivated gorgeous landscapes in the toughest environments possible: urban parks, school playgrounds, and the sidewalks of New York City. She will take lessons from her work in iconic city green spaces and gardens, and decades of research to share how those of us who are fortunate enough to care for land—from home gardeners and park advocates to professional horticulturists and everyone in between—can do it beautifully and ecologically.

Adventures in Ecological Horticulture is part of Engaging Nature: Dialogues on Urban Ecology, a four-part virtual public program series that will illuminate the practices and expertise driving the High Line’s contributions to the domains of ecological horticulture, urban biodiversity, and climate resilience.

Through the Engaging Nature: Dialogues on Urban Ecology series, attendees will learn about the often-overlooked connections between plants, humans, wildlife, and the many elements that make up the natural world around us within the built environment of New York City. From best practices for fostering a holistically healthy garden and recent learnings on the vital partnerships between native pollinators and plants that allow them both to thrive, to insights on horticultural resilience in the face of a changing climate and the care and keeping of some of New York City’s most vibrant greenspaces, the Engaging Nature dialogues reveal the role we play within the complex and unseen system of networks that undergirds the urban environment.